Halley's Comet meteor shower expected to light the sky tonight

A meteor shower from pieces of Halley's comet will light up the sky tonight in what promises to be a dazzling show.

The Orionid meteor shower occurs annually and is said to produce about 20 meteors per hour, reported DiscoveryNews.

Space.com said that the last five years have seen ever more impressive showers with sometimes dozens of extra meteors per hour than normal.

"Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, the source of the Orionids," said Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Space Flight Center, reported the website.

"Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour."

"Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour," he added.